Coding Temple

Coding Temple

About

About

Coding Temple is a 10-week, full-stack coding bootcamp in Chicago that focuses on ASP.NET, MVC, Python and JavaScript. Founded by Berkeley graduate and entrepreneur Avi Patel, Coding Temple teaches in downtown Chicago. Technologies covered in the program include C#, Entity, SQL, jQuery, and ASP.NET. Students will also learn best practices including Test Driven Development and Agile Development and how to develop industry standard application and get hands on experience with partnered clients. Coding Temple also offers weekend workshops on specific topics.

Our class is a hybrid of lecture and hands on coding. In class, you will be lectured on technologies, introduced to new concepts by explaining the fundamentals and then shown examples of how to apply them in code. You will apply these concepts yourself by writing code, while the instructors will be on standby to assist. Some days, you will be pair programming (an industry software development technique), while on other days you will be a lone wolf. The reason behind pairing is it helps assimilate knowledge faster by helping you catch each other’s mistakes, come up with new ideas which cannot be conceived by oneself, or even teach other neat tricks.

Financing

Deposit

$1,000

Financing

Yes

Refund / Guarantee

Guaranteed job within 6 months of graduation or full tuition reimbursement

I can honestly say that attending Coding Temple was one of the best decisions I have made. Prior to matriculation, I had no coding experience, as did a few other students, but by the end of the semester, especially after completing my Final Capstone Project, I felt as if had accumulated a wealth of programming tools and technologies in an astonishingly short period of time. Upon graduating, I received multiple interviewers and felt comfortable demonstrating to employers that I learned a lot and have the potential to put these tools into practice. The same can be said for anyone upon completion of the course regardless of their desired path; front-end, back-end, full-stack, data-science - you will gain proficiency in each of these areas - provided YOU put in the time and effort needed for success. Plus, I don't think that many employers were too skeptical that I attended a bootcamp rather than acquire a traditional 4-year CS degree at a university. They are gaining steam and a well-justified positive perception in the STEM community.

One thing to reiterate though - you NEED to put in the time and effort needed to understand all concepts. That means asking questions when you have minimal understanding of a new topic, staying after class ends for extra assistance, and reviewing weekly syllabi on your own time. The instructors will always happily and promptly entertain questions on anything - be it on Python, hashing, Javascript array methods, and, of course, job searching. Follow the above recommendations: you will have good fortune searching for jobs if you do!

How long have you prepared for this? Assuming you have no coding experience, If you want to achieve your highest potential for success, do not decide you want to learn how to code, and then sign up for a bootcamp 2-3 weeks later. You need to prepare. You need to utilize as much online learning as you can, until you feel confident enough in your skills. Coding Temple is an intense 10 week program, and falling behind typically leaves you behind the entire course. That's a place you don't want to be. Request their Course Syllabus and prepare for atleast 6 months before you sign up, that way when you get there, you can work from ahead and even complete the optional assignments. This will give you the most bang for your buck because already understanding the fundamentals allows you to better comprehend the coursework, as well as learn more advanced topics that other in your cohort won't have time for!

Our Instructor Joe was very knowledgeable and helpful. He's always available whenever you need his help. Also, Ripal, the director of business development does a pretty awesome job of connecting with potential employers for final project presentations together with interview prep, and resume writing. Above all, they're always to listen any suggestions that would make your learning successful or make them better.

If you want to be a programmer, you need to put in the work. Just because you go to a coding bootcamp, you that doesn't mean you'll be ready to face the challenges of software development.

With that said, if you have the attitude that you'll do whatever it takes to succeed, Coding Temple will do everything they can to provide you with the tools for success in the work place. The curriculum is thorough (but fast, so be prepared to ask lots of questions and spent time working outside of class), the instructors are patient, and are willing to work with you outside of class, and when the course is over they check in with you periodically to help with your job search.

All in all, I am very glad I took this course and would recommend it to anyone who is serious about switching to a career in software development.

I took a single day class Coding Temple offered to learn Tableau and it was amazing. Coming from someone who is not tech savvy or had no idea how to use tableau before this class, it helped me get a very good understanding of how to use it and apply it to the workforce. The instructor took his time and explained everything in detail since he knew most of us were beginners. I would go back to Coding Temple for more of these classes, they were very helpful!

Let me preface this review by saying that I was uncertain of what to expect going in, to the say the least. With little to no coding experience, I had no way to guage the verity or weight of what online resources and other reviews claimed was true of coding boot camps. As I was looking to make a serious, professional career change into data science, I had to be sure that all the online hype about life-changing experiences was not some intricate scam. So, after weeks of research and contemplation about my next step in life, I committed to the idea and reached out to Coding Temple.

By the time I got off the phone with Ripal, the business director, any remaining doubts I might have had were rendered moot. Needless to say, everyone at Coding Temple turned out to be equally welcoming and understanding of the needs of the incoming class. Coding Temple is set up with all of that already in mind--from the classy, comfortable working environment, to the highly detailed curriculum. Having made my way out to Chicago all the way from New Jersey for this, I could not have asked for a smoother transition.

Now, to address the elephant in the room: Coding Temple is as close to a formal education as one can receive, comparable in quantity and quality to a semester in college, minus the diploma. As such, Coding Temple employs a more project-oriented strategy to help push their students to see the fruits of their labor. The importance of this approach cannot be overstated. This is the key that makes a lightning-fast three-month boot camp tangible for both the graduates and their potential employers.

So, was it really all sunshine and rainbows? No, there was blood, sweat, and tears involved throughout the learning process, to be sure. But that is how one builds grit. In my opinion, if there is one thing a potential employer wants to see, after all the techicalities are said and done, it's grit. The whole experience really is what you make of it, and that kind of liberty says a lot about the slew of resources made available to you. Do come in with an open mindset, and it will practically guarantee your success; do NOT come in with an entitled mindset, or else that will almost certainly deny you it.

All in all, "life-changing" is quite relative to one's level of expectations, so it is doubly important that one keep an open mind and let the boot camp do its magic. I came in green as a caterpillar and left having earned my wings; I absolutely believe it was life changing for me. I never would have imagined myself where I am today if it were not for all the tutelage and support of everyone at Coding Temple. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough for anyone considering this as their next step.

Honestly I'm not sure where to begin, as I have so many great things to say about Coding Temple. Not only did they create a fun filled environment full of coding, they went above and beyond throughout the entire process.

I was originally looking into taking the Python course in Boston, and ended up switching to take an earlier class in D.C., which they graciously helped me out in finding a place and getting setup in the area. I couldn't be happier with the way things panned out, as the location was great and the class went extremely well.

The instructors here were knowledgeable and made coding an enjoyable experience. It's always tough when people are coming in at different coding levels, but it was both tough on the experienced students and easy to pickup for the students that had never coded in their life. Derek (my instructor) was wonderful and helped us every step of the way with any problem we had.

One great thing about this bootcamp is that they made the experience fun and personable. I now have a life-long friend in Derek, and a great network through the Coding Temple program.

For me it was easy to select Coding Temple because of the small class size, as I don't learn well when I can't ask questions. While at Coding Temple we were encouraged to ask any questions, and it wasn't frowned upon to be behind, they'd even help you get up to speed if you needed the extra help.

Overall, I can't recommend this bootcamp enough, it was the best decision of my life, and I will be forever grateful towards the staff at Coding Temple for guiding me to what my career goals were.

Something to keep in mind is that, like any other bootcamp, you need to come in prepared and ready to work. I not only dedicated myself every day, but also every night to this program. To be a programmer, half the battle is applying it on your own, otherwise you forget what you just learned. Too many people think that they can just come to a bootcamp, show up, and they'll be a developer... it doesn't work like that. You need to be willing to put the effort in, and if you do, you'll get great results out of it.

If there's one more thing I can say, it's that this company is very personable and will help you out whatever the situation, they genuinely just want to see you succeed in everything that you do, and they'll do whatever it takes to help you reach your goals.

This was a great course, it was a lot of work to learn a full stack development in 10 weeks without any previous experience in coding or programming. Derek the instructor for the course was very knowledgable and helpful in getting concepts to sink in, and assessing each students strengths and abilities. Ananya, the Python instructor, was extremely passionate about the topic, and helpful with interview prep/whiteboarding practice. Finally, upon finishing the course, Ripal was in constant contact revamping my resume as needed, putting me in touch with recruiters, and sending job postings I might have missed (including the job I ultimately landed).

I would highly recommend, but know going in that in addition to the 6-8 hours of class a day you will need to put in at least 25 hours a week after class to get the most of the course and complete the homework assignments.

I had a very positive experience with Coding Temple, specifically the .NET cohort. The staff are a lot of fun and incredibly knowledgeable. It was rare that I came across a question that Joe (the .NET instructor) was unable to answer. The curriculum was very relevant to today's job market as many of the jobs I came across were seeking people who were familiar with angular, javascript, .NET, etc. The single moment that made me realize how much I had truly gained from going through Coding Temple was about 3 weeks into my new job; I was sitting amongst 3 of my fellow new hires (all of whom had bachelor's degrees in computer science) when it dawned on me that there had yet to be a situation in which I had truly felt at a disadvantage compared to them. In those 3 weeks I had not once encountered a concept or topic in which I seemed to be the only one lost. This was really significant for me because prior to this realization I had been really nervous that I wouldn't be able to hold my own amongst a bunch of comp sci grads.

Aside from the enormous amount of knowledge that you will gain throughtout the duration of the course, an additional benefit is the vast network that Ripal (co-founder, business development) has established with local tech companies and recruiters. While I found my job through a referal from a friend, almost everyone else in my cohort was able to find employment thanks to Ripal's connections and his resume/interview prep.

The only suggestion I would make to Coding Temple would be to, if possible, throw a little bit of react instruction into the course and instead of teaching angular 1 teach angular 4 as those both seem to be really sought after skillsets right now.

Let me start by saying, this bootcamp is not for the faint of heart. It is FAST paced and A LOT of information to take in. But, if you are strong enough, and disciplined enough, you can learn SO MUCH in a very short period of time. By the time you leave (if you have the moxy to make it), you will be ready to take on any mid level .NET position (of which there are so many out there), and they help you find the job too! So, if you are lazy, stay where you are at sitting on the couch reading reviews, but if you think you have what it takes and can sprint for 10 weeks straight to the finish line, I would highly recommend Coding Temple. I can't speak for all the instructors, but my teacher, Joe, was more knowledgeable than any programmer I have dealt with, yet down to earth and more than willing to help when you needed it. The other instructors that I met were super cool and very friendly and I can imagine that they were as knowledgeable and helpful. When you go into week 11, should you choose to take advantage of the job placement help, and I recommend that you do, Ripal does everything he can to make you a worthy employee prospect and hook you up with the right people to get you a job fast. I just got hired only 3 and a half weeks after finishing at Coding Temple (and I have to admit, I didn't do much of the work to get the job because it was the holiday season and I had some family/life catch up to do after the course... it was all taken care of for me; I just had to show up! Imagine if you put forth effort after the class!) There were points in time through the 10 weeks where I didn't think I could do it; literally pulling at my hair and near what felt like a nervous breakdown. It is HARD. make no mistake about it. But it is totally worth it.

While Attending Coding temple I learned a lot about what it really takes to be a web developer. We worked on many projects to drive home the lesson of the day. The instructors were extremely helpful when it came to answering questions about anything we were stuck on. They made sure we were ready when it came to answering interview questions, and making sure our resumes stood out to potential employers. I would recommend this program to anyone seeking an alternative to a college education.

With no exaggeration, Coding Temple was the best professional decision of my life.

I completed the 10-week ASP.NET cohort. There is some assigned prework to be completed by the first day. DO THE WORK! Not only will it give you a sense of whether coding is something you enjoy doing, but it's also a courtesy to the rest of the students in your class. The pace of the class only gets faster, so if you feel that the prework is too much - the next 10 weeks will be very difficult.

The .NET instructor is Joe, a guy with 10+ years of software development experience. He is a complete wealth of knowledge who is happy to help with any questions or problems you have. BUT, you have to ask him! You will learn everything you need to land a job as either a front- or back-end developer. The other instructors, Derek and Joel, are also very knowledgeable and happy to help out. Ripal will create a masterful resume for you and does great work bringing in recruiters and industry professionals. Everyone is incredibly friendly and wants to get you a job!

I can't stress this enough - you will get out of this class what you put in. If you are breezing through any particular subject, BUILD things with it. If you have difficulty, do as much research on your own as you can to find the answers before asking an instructor. W3Schools, StackOverflow, Google, and Youtube are your friends. Embrace the documentation.

Ultimately, I can't recommend Coding Temple enough. If you're a career changer (like me) who wants a new professional direction to pursue, Coding Temple WILL arm you with the knowledge and opportunity you need. This is an amazing investment opportunity, but the return is entirely up to you.

I just move our from South Korea 1 year ago. when I moved, I decided to become a programmer. and I study by myself for 4months and try to apply to some company!

eh... as you know, I couldn't get any any any mail.

I didn't know what to do, so just research for this and I found here 'Coding Temple'

I started 2016. Dec and study really hard(hopefully I did) and it was hard! Because as you know learning programming is not easy, and I am Korean.. have a language barrier. but my wonderful teacher! 'Joe' helps me a lot. and not only him 'Derek' and 'Joel' and 'Ripal' they always find the answer and try to explain to me.

and now, I am working company as a front developer(I am so happy about this company).

anyway, overall 'Coding Temple' will be a good choice for you if you want to become a programmer. but please don't forget this. you have to study a lot and prepare for the portfolio. it's not easy and the hardest thing is to apply to the company and get a job.

but again, Don't forget this. They always help you with getting a job.

Are you Ready? Then let's Jump on Coding Temple and become a programmer

p.s> class will move really fast. and if you don't ask to teacher he will not explain to you. because he doesn't know you understand or not. ask and ask! it will be good for you

I graduated from college with a degree in advertising and worked at a couple of agencies out of school. I realized I was not happy in my job and had always been interested in software development. I reached out to a friend who had gone to a coding bootcamp and he recommended Coding Temple. He put me in touch with Ripal, who was extremely helpful from the moment I met him. He answered any and every question that I had and made sure I knew what I was getting into.

This is not a course where one can just show up every day and expect to be successful at the end of the 10 weeks. The course is fast-paced and loaded with new information every day and is also project-oriented with real world situations that you can talk about in interviews. Each day builds on the previous day and it is vital to stay on top of the work.

If you do, however, find yourself behind or not understanding a topic, the instructors are approachable, friendly, and always willing to help. There have been numerous times that an instructor has stayed late with either me or a classmate to make sure we truly understood what we were doing and we were ready to hit the ground running the next day. Even if you don't need help, the instructors are almost always willing to stay after for a beer or two and just hang out!

Not only is Ripal there in the beginning, but around the 5th or 6th week he begins preparing the class for the job search. He helped us rewrite our resume, set up our LinkedIn accounts, get our resumes on the best job boards, etc. After the 10 weeks are over, Ripal set up multiple meetings with recruiters, alumni, and other connections that he has made over the years.

So whether you are looking to change careers or you just want some real world projects to supplement your CS degree, Coding Temple will give you all of the tools you need to be successful. The rest is up to you!

I attended the Python program at Coding Temple Boston in the fall semester. The pace of the class was definitely rigorous, but the instructor was excellent and cared a lot about ensuring that we followed the material. He was often available after class for extra help and always available by email. This dedication by the professor made the fast pace managable.

The course was a good split of javascript and python, with some SQL and data science at the end. Now that I am in the interview process, I feel like I was well prepared for an entry level position.

I went into Coding Temple with no computer science or programming background, besides some research and part of an online class that went over some basic Python concepts. I'll admit, the first couple weeks were definitely eye-opening and difficult, but it is so worth it to stick with it! The instructor was patient and always willing to help and break things down when I was confused. The class moves quickly, so you definitely need to be prepared for that. Just when you are starting to understand one concept, the next one begins. It isn't a bad thing, but because the pace is so quick, it is useful to review the older topics (when you can) as you are learning the new ones.

I was worried about being able to find a job after the bootcamp when my background wasn't in tech, but I was just offered a position (only about a month after the course ended)! If you're ready to put in the work and time, it is absolutely worth it. It won't be easy, but when you finish you'll be amazed at how much you learned in such a short period of time. If you are a career-changer like me and thinking about coding, definitely take a look and try it!

My experience at Coding Temple was sublime. The quality, dedication, and commitment to student success that is central to the culture at Coding Temple is pervasive throughout every individual associated with the organization. It is immediately apparent that the growth of students, both personally and professionally, is the impetus behind every action of the Coding Temple staff.

Curriculum is fast-paced, but also uniquely tailored to individual student interests and career aspirations. Instructors are attentive, responsive, and constantly available to provide guidance through difficult course material. Yes, coding boot camp can be tough, requiring long hours both in and out of the classroom. However, the resultant development of immediately marketable and employable skills is directly proportional to the amount of effort put in by the student. With the tutelage of Derek and Joe, in a scant 10 weeks I went from utter coding naïveté to a solid understanding of the fundamentals of programming and an excellent working knowledge of Python and a wide diversity of associated libraries.

The quality of the career services mirrors the quality of the other aspects of Coding Temple; they are superb. Ripal helped to revamp my résumé to match my distinct and individual career interests. Within a day of posting my information on job boards, I was awash in calls and emails with offers to interview at top-flight companies. It took less than two weeks for me to find a job in my desired field – data engineering – with a company that will continue to allow me to grow and flourish.

My time spent at Coding Temple was fun, interesting, and transformative. Coding Temple provided me with not just an education, but also with friends and colleagues. Coding Temple isn’t just a coding boot camp, it is a community whose members respect and value each other and the organization that brought them together.

I took the .NET/C# 10 week course at Coding Temple and it was worth every penny! I had zero experience in coding before deciding to step into this industry. I was fresh out of college with a degree that I was not sure I wanted to make a career out of so after lots of research I came across Software Development. I was referred to Coding Temple by a friend and it seemed like the best option compared to any other bootcamps relative to price, class size, and their raving reviews.

Attending this bootcamp will take a lot of dedication and you need to be ready to work! For me, it required quitting my job and putting my 100% into the course even before it started. It is so important to do the pre-work assigned prior to class and to fully understand it as well. It will go such a long way throughout the course. I also recommend self-teaching the basics of object-oriented programming prior to class so you are not left behind and playing catch-up throughout. You need to put a lot of effort, both in and out of class.

Joe is extremely knowledgeable and a great instructor! He made sure to help us understand and apply the material. There is one on one interaction with Joe throughout the whole course due to the small class size which came as great advantage for me. All the languages and material we covered through the course was up to date and most relevant with the job openings today which really helped throughout the job search.

Towards the end of the course, there was a lot of assistance through the job placement process. We received assistance with our portfolios, resumes, how to make a presence on job boards and LinkedIn, how to search for jobs, mock technical and behavioral interviews, list of possible technical interview questions, etc. Ripal helped tremendously throughout this whole process from matching with potential recruiters to providing possible job postings for roles that best match your interests.

I received a job offer a little over a month after finishing the course. The whole process is grueling and at times you will feel frustrated but it is well worth it in the end if you are looking for a change in career. Coding Temple is incredibly personable and everyone there is always willing to assist you throughout and make sure you succeed.

I recently attended Coding Temple and took part in the .NET cohort. I can honestly say this was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I knew very little coding going into the bootcamp and learned even more than I had anticipated. The .NET cohort covers a great range of technical skills necessary for success as a Software Developer. I now have a job working with SQL, C#, and other skills I learned while I was a student. The class size was one of the deciding factors for me in choosing Coding Temple. The small class size helped with problem solving and if one of us was struggling, anyone was willing to help them. While I greatly enjoyed my time at Coding Temple, it was not without its challenges. It required dedication outside of class hours and active participation while I was in class every day. I had quit my job and knew I wanted to change my career, so it was 100% worth all of the time and effort this past summer. Joe, Ripal, and the entire Coding Temple staff were instrumental to my success. Joe is a phenomenal teacher and it was rare there was a question he could not answer. I could not be happier with my experience at Coding Temple and would highly recommend it to anyone!

I took a one day course at the coding temple over tableau. I had little to no experience with tableau, making me question if I would be able to keep up in the class. This was not the case. The instructor was very good at explaining any questions and would make sure the class was on the same page before moving on. The instructor would also go into detail on how you could apply these concepts in the workforce such as finding financial data. The class had a very interactive feel due to its size, almost like a one on one training session. Overall, I was very pleased with my experience at the coding temple. I was amazed at how comfortable I was with tableau after just a one day course. I would absolutely recommend their courses to anyone looking for a hands-on learning experience with a very helpful instructor.

I was always interested in learning how to code and being a developer, but thought I had missed the boat because I didn't study it in school. Then I found Coding Temple and was so excited to have the opportunity to learn how to be a software developer in just 10 weeks! It was scary quitting my job, but the bootcamp was more than worth it. I learned so much in the bootcamp and am thankful for the experience.

One thing I liked about Coding Temple more than other bootcamps is that it focuses on small class sizes. This was crucial for me because I didn't have much coding experience and I was worried about being left behind. My instructor Derek was a great teacher, answered all my questions, and made sure I really understood what we were doing. We worked on a lot of projects using the topics we were learning about and did one final capstone project. You really do get out of the class what you put into it though. You need to be invested and prepared to work hard.

Ripal has been great to work with for career assistance. He has connected me with recruiters and companies, helped me with my resume, and how to talk about my experience. I graduated less than a month ago and have already had 10+ first round interviews, 2 second round interviews, and 1 final interview. There really is a demnad for developers and Coding Temple will teach you everything you need to know.

I had virtually no coding experience going into the 11-week program, but I came out knowledgeable and confident. I was able to land a job as a Junior Developer about a month after graduating the course. Small class sizes and extremely knowledgeable instructors make Coding Temple well worth your money. Put in the time & effort, and remain curious and passionate, and you will be rewarded - as I was.

Going into this course, I told myself that the ONLY criteria upon which I would judge this course was if it led to me getting a job as a programmer. I was not disappointed.

TLDR:
If you take this course seriously, do all of the coursework and prework, and you genuinely enjoy what you're doing, you will grasp the fundamentals of programming and will get a good paying job. I found an amazing job shortly after graduation and therefore recommend this course 100%.

Onto the review:
About 6 months before taking this course, I decided to switch jobs and was considering my options. That is when I came across "Coding Bootcamps". At first, I thought that they were too good to be true: Expensive, hyper specialized courses aimed at teaching you all the fundamentals to land a job as a programmer in about 10-12 weeks. After researching the heck out of them, I was convinced that they were indeed legit, and decided to look for a good local school to invest in.

There were several choices that I had in the Chicagoland area. Coding Temple stood out as the most affordable, which immediately put them on my radar. While I didn't know the value of it yet, they were also one of the few schools teaching C# and Python, two of the most popular and useful programming languages. The rest of the schools that I've seen tend to focus on Javascript, which is useful, but in my experience, more helpful if you're looking for a front-end programming job.

I scheduled a visit to Coding Temple, and was immediately impressed by the lead instructor, Joe. His understanding and prior work experience was extensive. The layout of the classroom and break room were very nice, but overall the impression that I got from the instructor is what sealed the deal for me. I knew where I was going.

Before the course began, you are given course prework to do. DO IT! There were two students who never did the prework. Throughout the class, they were struggling and never really did catch up. I'm not sure if they got jobs after class was finished.

The first 5 weeks of class generally focused on front-end programming (HTML/CSS and Javascript). Because of it, I have a better understanding of front-end development than most of the back-end programmers that I work with. The second 5 weeks focus on the back-end (SQL, C#, ASP.NET MVC) and our final projects. The pace of the course definitely picks up as the course continues, so be prepared for that.

I really enjoyed the course hours: 9am to 3pm, Monday through Thursday. They give you a good amount of time to recoup and study after getting bombarded by information during class. Fridays are an optional study day. I would HIGHLY encourage you to go to these, since in my class, most people skipped Fridays. Coming to class on Friday was an excellent opportunity to get one on one instruction with Joe and to catch up on concepts from the week.

The final week of class focuses on wrapping up your Final Project/Resumes and preparing them for the recruiters. In my opinion, Coding Temple does a great job sourcing recruiters from top staffing companies in the Chicagoland area. Ripal helped tremendously with my resume, which is part of why, I believe, I was able to land the job that I did.

Criticisms:
I only have 1 real criticism of the course. I wish the course were 11 weeks long, to give an extra week to wrap up the Final Project. Things seemed very rushed during the last couple days of class.

Where am I now?:
I was able to land a great job as a .NET programmer at a top web development company in the Chicagoland area within about a month of graduating. I am surrounded by people with 4-year Computer Science degrees (I have a degree in Chemistry) and many of them even have Master's Degrees. Honestly, I feel like I cheated the system to get to where I am. It just seems too good to be true, but it's not!

If you're looking for a Coding Bootcamp to become a Front-End, .NET or a Python developer, look no further than Coding Temple!

When I was first considering coding boot camps, I was very hesitant to make the investment. The Coding Temple reviews seemed too good to be true. After further investigation, I found out that some people I know through mutual friends have gone through the program and are very successful. I went in to meet the instructors and my mind was instantly at ease. Going through this program was the best career decision I have ever made. Not only did I gain a solid understanding of development, I learned how to debug and run through issues within programs. I tried the self-learning classes online and I now realize that the education I gained at the Coding Temple would have never been achieved if I continued to try and learn solo. It’s a very scary and intimidating process but in the end, I am extremely satisfied. It has been less than a month from my last day of class and I have had multiple job offers (I believe the only reason it took this long was because of the holidays). If you have any hesitations, I suggest reaching out to them or going in for a visit to see it for yourself.

I found this to be the most effective way to learn how to code! The instructors are extremely knowledgable and take on any question you have. They'll helped me prepare for technical and behavioral interviews, refined my resume, and set me up with recruiters and interviews to find a new career!

I worked as a front-end developer for 2 years and realized that the front-end industry is starting to make a change. I needed to enhance my skill-set in javascript and have exposure to the back-end concepts. After attending a Coding Temple workshop, where I met the instructor Hitesh. I decided to attend the Fulltime .NET course at Coding Temple.

Coding Temples hands on training and 1-on-1 mentorship was really beneficial in my experience in landing my first job after graduation

Here’s what we found ourselves reading and discussing in the Course Report office in February 2017! We found out the three most in-demand programming languages, we read about how coding could be the new blue collar job, and looked at how new schools are tweaking the bootcamp model to fit their communities. Plus, we hear about a cool app for NBA fans built by coding bootcamp graduates! Read below or listen to our latest Coding Bootcamp News Roundup Podcast.

It’s that time again! A time to reflect on the year that is coming to an end, and a time to plan for what the New Year has in store. While it may be easy to beat yourself up about certain unmet goals, one thing is for sure: you made it through another year! And we bet you accomplished more than you think. Maybe you finished your first Codecademy class, made a 30-day Github commit streak, or maybe you even took a bootcamp prep course – so let’s cheers to that! But if learning to code is still at the top of your Resolutions List, then taking the plunge into a coding bootcamp may be the best way to officially cross it off. We’ve compiled a list of stellar schools offering full-time, part-time, and online courses with start dates at the top of the year. Five of these bootcamps even have scholarship money ready to dish out to aspiring coders like you.

Raag switched from computer science to study criminal law at college, but after graduation realized his passion was in programming, and enrolled at Coding Temple coding bootcamp in Chicago. After the 10-week program, Raag found a job as an applications developer at ATI Physical Therapy in Bolingbrook, IL. We spoke to Raag about why he chose to study .NET, the great one-on-one time he got with his Coding Temple instructor, and how he balanced attending national dance competitions with learning to code!

Q&A

What were you doing before you went to Coding Temple? What was your educational or career background?

I actually started school as a computer science major, but at some point, I decided to pursue law instead. So I switched to criminal law and justice for undergrad, and my post-graduation plan was to go to law school. But after graduation, I realized I really liked programming, and I felt having programming knowledge could be very useful for my future. There are so many different routes you can go, and there's always a demand for programmers. It felt like the perfect field for me.

As soon as I graduated, I also got my license as a loan originator. This was a license that I had been wanting to have. As soon as I got that license, I reached out to Ripal at Coding Temple. I'd been researching for about two or three months, and I’d heard about other bootcamps like MakerSquare and Dev Bootcamp, and a bunch of others online. I realized that .NET was what I wanted to learn and to get a better insight, I reached out to Ripal.

What stood out to you about .NET as a programming language?

I was familiar with with it, and had heard a lot about .NET development in general around the Chicago area. When I was looking at job postings in my potential geographic area, a lot of them were for .NET developers. That’s what was in demand where I lived.

Were you serious about staying in Chicago for a coding bootcamp?

Yeah, I’d just graduated from school, moving elsewhere would have been difficult. I wouldn't be able to afford moving out, nor did I want to live too far from my family, or find a place to live for those few months. Coding Temple Chicago was more affordable for me than almost any other bootcamp I looked at.

Tell us about the application and interview process for Coding Temple. Did you have to do a coding challenge?

I think my favorite part about Coding Temple was when they said that they were going to teach us from the ground up, and they meant it. I had no experience in coding at all, and the few intro to engineering classes I took in college weren't useful at Coding Temple. Some of the other bootcamps I looked at had application quizzes on their websites before you register, so I assume you had to have some prior knowledge. But when I talked to the Coding Temple instructor Hitesh before classes started, he reassured me that I'd do just great regardless of how much I knew prior to the class.

After I had made my decision about pursuing Coding Temple, I talked to Ripal about the program, and he was able to get me in touch with Hitesh again, and I spent some time with him 1-on-1 as part of my interview. Additionally, there was three weeks of pre-work before class started. We did the work completely on your own. You learn how to program and solve problems. Each week was more challenging than the week before. Those three weeks were to prepare us for the course coming up and get our minds to think like a programmer and get a feel of what it’s like before the class started in January. It was challenging because it was my first time working on anything that complex but it was awesome finally learning how to do it.

So anyone could start Coding Temple without having any experience, but then you get weeded out through the pre-work?

Yeah, the pre-work was for everyone. There was some time between the pre-work and when class started so that students had time to figure out whether or not this is actually for them. It had two purposes – actually giving students exposure to code before class, and also for people to find out if this is something they want to do.

How many people were in your cohort? Were your classmates like you? Were they recent college graduates or did people come from different backgrounds?

There was originally five; one ended up joining the cohort after mine. So I graduated in a group of four. I was the only recent college graduate. The other three, one of them has front end experience, so he took the bootcamp to learn backend. And another guy learned Python I believe, and also wanted to learn .NET instead.

Who was your instructor? What was the teaching style?

His name was Hitesh Patel. For the first few weeks, he started off teaching us the basics like HTML, CSS and everything you need to know to create and style a webpage. And then we got into interactivity with things like JavaScript. He created all the slides for lectures, and every few slides there would be a problem that would be correlated with what we're learning in class for us to attempt on our own.

Over the course of the bootcamp we worked on about three projects. The first two were pretty basic in terms of how much of what we knew was actually applied. Then the big one was our capstone project which we did over the next five or six weeks, which included everything we learned including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C#, SQL, amongst others. Everything we learned in class each day, we could then apply to our project we were working on.

Over the entire course our smaller class size was the one thing that helped the most – any time you had a question Hitesh had time to stop by all four of us individually and make sure we were all keeping up. We would get a lot of one-on-one time.

What did you end up building for your capstone project?

The capstone project was an eCommerce website. The purpose of the website was for users to be able to choose a category of products they wanted to buy. Users navigate through the website, find the product to buy, add it to their cart. You can then edit or update your cart. Very similar to navigating through Amazon but obviously on a smaller scale.

What did you do after you graduated from Coding Temple?

While I was taking the course, I had put off a lot of things until our class ended. So I had to take about a week to get all that done, and I had a dance competition that weekend. I am a Fusion dancer in Chicago. I'm a part of an all-male team, and I had about six competitions while I was taking this class. It was very hectic.

How much of a time commitment was your dancing? How did you balance that with Coding Temple?

From January to April, when I was at Coding Temple, we were practicing almost every day. We had competitions, and we'd be out of town. I'd have class until 6pm and then I’d have practice 8pm to 1am or 2am. That was a crazy few months.

Coding Temple was very accommodating. They made sure that while I was away at competitions, I wasn't falling behind. When I came back to class, if I had missed something, Hitesh would catch me up. He would tell me to come in earlier, or stay later, and I could ask him about what I was confused on, or didn't get time to look over because of practices.

What are you up to now. What's your new job?

As soon as I came back from the dance nationals in Ohio, I went on a crazy job hunt. I put my resume out everywhere, on Indeed, Dice, LinkedIn, Career Builder. From there I was getting a lot of calls, and actively researching. I would spend five to six hours a day searching for jobs. Ripal actually helped me out a lot too. He would regularly send me jobs that he felt I was a good candidate for, and he get me in touch with people who could help me as well. Then about a week and a half later, I’d had two interviews, and I got a job offer from ATI Physical Therapy. I work as an application developer in their IT department at the corporate office in Bolingbrook. I started a month ago.

What has your first month been like as a developer? Is that what you expected? What does your day to day look like?

Because Coding Temple is very hands on, it was pretty much as if I was working for a company already – you're assigned tests and assignments to finish each week. So it was pretty much just what I expected going into the job. But because I had never actually worked in the field , I wasn't sure what came with the job. For example, I had to learn the database this company uses. For my own projects, I’d worked with about four tables but at ATI they have hundreds of tables. I’ve been learning to navigate through those, and the entire application, then going back and reading what everything means. It’s a much bigger scale than I’m used to.

What was your training like?

So there are two applications that we use - Touchstone and Insync. I'm part of the Insync team. The Insync team has an amazing training program that they've created on their own within the IT department. They train you on SQL, then ASP, and C#. Those are the main three languages they use here. I'm still on the training process right now. And after they evaluate your understanding of those technologies, they have you create your own application in which you have to utilize things like grid views and search engines, use data sources and data binding to connect your server side to your page side. That’s why the transition wasn't that difficult for me, because it's so similar to what I had to do at Coding Temple. I’m on my last week of training and then next week I'm going to start at our help desk, which is a way for me to learn what the application is and get really familiar with it. We have over 500 clinics around the country, and when anyone has questions or issues, they email the ticket to the help desk. And we would then go through the database, make any changes that we need to, and make any adjustments to fix those issues. It's a way of making sure that everything I learn in this training is cemented in my mind and that I’ll be really familiar with the application.

Was it an issue that you didn’t have a CS degree? Did you have to do a technical interview during your application?

They were actually understanding in that I haven't been in this industry for years, and nor have I graduated with a CS degree. They were able to accommodate me in every way possible and that's was awesome about that entire training process.

Originally they were a little concerned that I didn't have any professional experience or a technical degree because I come from a law background, so they had me take online assessments on C#, SQL, and ASP, as a way to test how much I had learned throughout these last few months at the bootcamp and on my own.

What are your career goals in terms of your future as a developer?

Software development is one of those careers where you never stop learning. You constantly have to learn not only for yourself, but because of how quickly technology is growing and how often companies transition to other languages. In the future if I have to move to another state or find another job, if they're using a newer technology, I would need to know that too. My future goal is obviously to learn as much as possible, but at the same time, progress within my career and gain a higher position. Hopefully at ATI, but in general just to have a position where I'm able to lead a group of people and achieve something. I’d like to be the go-to person for any real coding issues.

Is there anything you would have done differently at the bootcamp? What was your biggest challenge in doing a bootcamp or the biggest lesson that you learned?

I guess it was bad timing for me with my hectic dance season because while I was putting in about 35 hours in class a week, I was putting in another 30 to 40 for dance practice. It was like any time I had outside of that, I was working on a project. So if I was to do it all again, I would make sure to have a completely free schedule outside of bootcamp, because you have to realize you're going to a bootcamp. While you’re in class for 35 or 40 hours a week, you have to make sure that you're also studying outside of it, strengthening your knowledge, making sure you understand everything you learn in class. Just understand the core concepts I would say and spend a lot of time outside of classes learning on your own because it's a bootcamp for a reason. You’re trying to learn in a few weeks what students learn in many semesters.

Halfway through his college degree in management information systems, Larry realized he wasn’t going to get the technical knowledge he needed for the job he wanted, so he started researching coding bootcamps. So as soon as Larry graduated, he enrolled in Coding Temple coding bootcamp in Chicago to study .NET web development. Now Larry is a junior developer at real estate listings website Exceleras. Larry tells us about the difference between studying at college vs. a bootcamp, how he found his job, and his ongoing relationship with Coding Temple.

Q&A

What were you up to before you went to Coding Temple?

I recently graduated with a degree in management information systems (MIS) from DePaul University in Chicago. I studied the whole business side of developing applications, rather than the technical side. It covered how to manage the software testing life cycle instead of how to develop applications. Right after I graduated, I attended a bootcamp.

Had you tried to teach yourself to code at all?

I had pretty minimal exposure to programming before I entered the coding bootcamp. I dabbled with Treehouse for a little bit, and did general Googling.

Was your goal when you were thinking about a bootcamp to still go into management information systems, or was it to get a job as a software developer?

To be honest, going into my degree, I thought it would cover the technical aspects of information systems. When I realized I wasn’t going to get the technical skills I needed, it was too late for me to go back and start all over again.

Management comes from experience, so to manage a group of developers, it helps to be a developer. I think you can better manage someone if you’ve walked in their shoes before. Coming out of my degree, I didn’t get the technical skills that I wanted, which is why I looked into coding bootcamps to get those technical skills.

Did you look at coding bootcamps in Chicago other than Coding Temple? What was your research process like?

Course Report was a big part of my research process! I also considered Dev Bootcamp, but just the price and the amount of time required on campus was unrealistic for me. I narrowed it down to either Coding Temple or Anyone Can Learn to Code. Those were my final two options.

So time commitment was really important. Was Coding Temple a part-time program?

Time and cost were really important to me. My cohort was part-time but I believe the class that Coding Temple offers now is full-time and part-time javascript courses.

Did you ever consider leaving Chicago to do a coding bootcamp?

That would definitely escalate the expense of a bootcamp even more; we already lived in Chicago, so I didn’t want to worry about relocating expenses.

What was the application process like for Coding Temple? Did you have to do a coding challenge during the application?

I think they were pretty lenient on technical requirements for the first cohort. The application consisted of a Skype interview that quizzed me on basic HTML/CSS, and I knew most of the answers. Outside of that, there wasn’t a strict filtering process.

Then you did the 3-week remote Pre-Work for Coding Temple. What did that look like? How deep did it go in terms of programming skills?

It was object oriented fundamentals with C#. You learn loops, how to declare variables, how to create functions, what inheritance is, and other basic object oriented concepts. If you needed help, the instructors were able to Skype almost any time, and they took over your screen and explained everything. They were very accessible.

Tell us about your in-class experience. How many people were in that first cohort?

My class started out with 8 then 3 people dropped out for personal reasons, and joined Coding Temple winter course when I was a TA. So we had five people in our .NET course. When it comes to coding bootcamps like this, I think it’s a lot better to have a small class because you get to have a lot more one-on-one time with the teacher. He’s able to divide his attention more easily because there are so few students.

Who was your instructor and what was his teaching style?

His name was Hitesh Patel. He had a great style. He’s an absolute expert on all the topics being covered. No question was ever left unanswered. He went through the curriculum at a good pace, and helped us when we needed help. I couldn’t have asked for more. He has a CS degree and I think he’s been in the field for about nine years.

How different was Coding Temple from learning in college? Do you think that you learned more at Coding Temple or more in one semester of college?

It was different. It didn’t feel like it was an extension of college per se, but I was still learning. I would say I learned more in Coding Temple. Everything I learned there applies to my position that I’m currently in. In college you spend a lot of time on general education courses which you that don’t really apply in real life.

What are you up to now? Do you have a job as a developer?

In January 2016 I got a job as a junior developer at a real estate company called Exceleras.

What types of projects are you working on specifically?

Right now, I’m second-level support, so any technical issues that the help desk can’t handle, they take it over to my team of six people. I debug through the code and look for issues or make updates to the database to fix issues.

I’m learning the application piece by piece because I’m still a junior developer. I can’t really jump into the development cycle and projects yet since I don’t have full knowledge of what the application is doing.

Are you using the programming languages you learned at Coding Temple?

Yes, the application is in C#. Parts of it are written in Visual Basic but they’re moving towards C#. They’re also using .NET, and I’ll be using the SQL server every day, both of which I learned at Coding Temple.

Have you experienced a big learning curve after you graduated? How did Coding Temple prepare you for working as a developer?

I guess it depends on what type of industry you’re in because there’s always going to be different business processes. In terms of the technical standpoint, I think Coding Temple gives you a solid foundation to where you can jump into any industry and make an impact after you’ve learned the business processes.

How did you find that job?

Insperity reached out to me, which is one of the hundreds of staffing agencies in Chicago. Actually, a lot of staffing agencies reached out to me. I graduated in December 2016 and found the job a month later.

Amongst the other jobs that you were reached out to about, what stood out about Exceleras?

Their salary was competitive, I like their startup type of environment, and the commute wasn’t too bad. I guess those three things were the biggest deciding factors.

What were the interviews like? Did you have to do whiteboarding or technical challenges?

None of the interviews I went to had whiteboarding. It was just technical questions. There was one interview where they sent me coding tests via email to complete and send them back.

Was your interviewer ever concerned that you didn’t have a CS degree?

They didn’t really care if I had a CS degree. All my interviews were based on my responses to the technical questions – that you have a pretty solid grasp of what you know. I guess if you do well on the technical questions, they couldn’t care less about the degree.

How did Coding Temple facilitate the job placement and career process? Was there an emphasis on resumes, interview practice and networking?

They had a whole week dedicated to creating our resumes and having mock interviews for us, as well as whiteboard interviewing, in case that ever came up. The career coach was very proactive in marketing our resumes. He was the one applying to jobs and getting hold of recruiters for me to contact. All that effort helped.

Did you all do a hiring day where hiring partners came to see your final projects?

No, it was mostly done after I graduated but I know that has changed for the current cohorts. I know they’ve been having a lot of meetup events and they have partnered up with Robert Half. They actually come and collect the resumes of people who are interested in getting hired.

Have you stayed involved with Coding Temple at all as a mentor or anything like that?

Yes, I’m a teaching assistant, and I keep in touch with the founders on Slack. Even now, when I have any questions at work, I can reach out to them and ask for help. I have Ripal and Hitesh’s personal numbers and I think I’m going to have those contacts for life.

Is there anything that you would have liked to change about your experience? Were there things you suggested that they change for future cohorts?

Being that is was their first time, I would say that my experience met the value of what I paid for.

I know they are only going to get more organized with lessons and curriculum. In my class, some topics were just off the top of the instructor’s head. I didn’t mind that because he was just so smart, he was able to show us things along the way. In the beginning, he wanted to do a lot more than time allowed him to do. He didn’t realize that until we started and he had to make adjustments along the way.

What advice do you have for people who are thinking about a coding bootcamp, making a career change or who were in your shoes, having just graduated from college?

It’s a sector where the demand is really off the charts right now, at least in .NET. Since I did the bootcamp, I have had so many more calls back about jobs I’ve applied for, compared to when I applied for jobs straight out of college with just a degree.

To be successful at a bootcamp, you really need to have the interest and the desire to do it. You can’t just go in saying, “I’m gonna graduate making X amount of money.” If that’s your thought process then it’s not going to be a good experience. It is something you have to want to do.

You were saying that one of your big deciding factors in choosing a coding bootcamp was cost. Do you think that doing coding Temple was a good return on your investment?

Absolutely, I’m starting to get my return on it right now, so yes, without a doubt.

About The Author

Liz is the cofounder of Course Report, the most complete resource for students considering a coding bootcamp. She loves breakfast tacos and spending time getting to know bootcamp alumni and founders all over the world. Check out Liz & Course Report on Twitter, Quora, and YouTube!

While most coding bootcampers are making career changes, Hussain Muhammad decided to postpone college to start his career as a developer after high school. He spent 15 weeks at Coding Temple in Chicago, collaborating with his cohort and instructor to learn the .NET stack. Now Hussain tells us all about his new job as a front-end developer at FifthEstate.

Q&A

What were you up to before you went to Coding Temple?

Last June, I graduated from high school in Irving, Texas. I had been thinking about college but was wondering how it would work financially. College is not free!

Did you take a CS class in High School?

Nope! The first time I actually coded an application was on Codecademy during the Coding Temple interview. My Coding Temple interviewer sent me the Python track to complete in one week, and at the end of the week, we talked through what I had learned in the interview together.

I started looking at schools in the Dallas area and Chicago (where I’m originally from). I came across Coding Temple and their curriculum was interesting and different. Coding Temple teaches .NET, as opposed to Ruby on Rails like a lot of coding bootcamps.

I researched a handful of bootcamps, and while I considered other schools like Dev Bootcamp, I only applied to Coding Temple.

Most coding bootcampers are changing careers, but you are starting your career. Did you consider doing a four-year degree? What held you back?

Price is what really held me back. I would still like to continue my education and go to college and maybe get a degree in Computer Science. But for now, I’m progressing in my career development. I’m pushing college back by a year or two to get comfortable as a developer. Right now, I feel like I’m getting experience that could be useful during college as well.

Was the Coding Temple application tough to complete as a beginner?

I wouldn’t say the application was hard, but Coding Temple was trying to find the most diverse group of people who had the urge for learning. It was a typical application, asking about your background etc. My coding challenge was about Python.

Was it ever an issue or concern that you had just graduated from high school?

It wasn’t an issue for Coding Temple; actually, they thought it was pretty neat. They helped me get comfortable with the classroom environment and were really supportive.

Was your class diverse in terms of age, gender, race etc?

Definitely. Especially in terms of age – the oldest student in our class was in his 50s. We had a nice melting pot of students. Everyone was from different backgrounds; one of my classmates was a really talented pastry chef. The commonality was that we were all trying to make it in tech.

When we began the class, everyone was at different coding levels. Some had previous technical backgrounds, while others were completely new to coding. If anything, I would say the biggest challenge was trying to even myself out with my peers so that we could collaborate well.

Was your family supportive of the coding bootcamp route? Did they know what a bootcamp was?

My mom is so proud, and my family sees these skills as really cutting-edge. The world is digital, so these are skills that will be relevant for years.

The course was $8000 for 15 weeks. My family had some money saved; I think it was a good investment. It’s always good to have support from your family when you’re doing something like this.

What was the learning experience like at Coding Temple (compared to your experience in high school classrooms)?

It was different; we had afternoon classes and lectures from 5 pm to 9 pm, as well as 12 pm to 3 pm on weekends. Our classroom was in a WeWork at the time, but Coding Temple now has their own classroom space, which I hear is pretty neat.

Our instructor, Hitesh Patel, was a really hands-on teacher. He wanted us to think through concepts on our own, which I’m really appreciative of now, because that’s what I have to do at work every day. That approach really improved my problem-solving skills. Hitesh was never a teacher who would spoon-feed us answers, but he didn’t mind helping or staying late after class. Anything we needed – books, website recommendations, help on the weekends – he was there.

What were you expected to do during the day? Were you usually in the classroom all day?

We could be in WeWork any time, learning on our own. We usually had an assigned project that we were working on during the day. We could also look over notes, catch up from the night before; anything to better our understanding.

Did you do a lot of projects throughout the course?

The projects we did weren’t huge, but they were all helpful and are things I can definitely apply to what I’m doing now.

Tell us about your job today!

Currently, I’m a full-time developer for a startup in Addison, Texas called FifthEstate which is a social media platform that aggregates smaller blogs. We want to be a platform for non-mainstream media; we’re pushing for local voices because those opinions shape the world around us.

I’m working mostly on front-end work now. I use AngularJS mostly; I haven’t been using many of the tools I learned at Coding Temple yet, but our “middle-layer” will probably be C# or .NET, so I’ll be able to incorporate more of that stack.

How have you learned a new language, like Angular?

When I first started talking to my boss Larry, he told me I would be expected to figure things out on my own. I’m looking at this partly as an opportunity to be paid to learn. My first job as a developer is all about the experience.

When I began, I didn’t know much about AngularJS, but once I started writing it and reading up on JS capabilities, that helped me get a grasp on the language. Our Head Developer has me test his Angular code, which has been particularly helpful.

Tell us about the process of getting hired. Was it through Coding Temple’s hiring network?

I found that in the Texas job market, hiring managers were a bit skeptical of junior developers. It’s hard for them to gauge what you’re capable of.

I was sending out my resume and networking, and my now-boss Larry returned one of my calls. I was very clear that I was fresh out of school and looking to learn and grow as a developer. Some people in this industry are after the money, but I was clear that I was more interested in having a strong learning environment. That was about one month ago.

Was your boss skeptical of hiring a junior developer from a coding bootcamp?

No. He’s really involved in the development world, so he’s actually talking about hiring even more junior developers. He was mostly attracted to my enthusiasm, and we both have go-getter mentalities.

Looking back, do you think that Coding Temple was worth the risk and the tuition?

Of course! The education I received at Coding Temple will help me not only become a better developer, but also a more well-rounded individual. I believe in getting your hands in as many things as possible over your life, and going to Coding Temple exposed me to a really neat field. It was worth it, and then some.

For other high schoolers who may be on the fence about going to a coding bootcamp or college, what’s your advice to them?

Be prepared to be patient. There will be days (and I still have these days) when I’m totally confused and things aren’t coming to me right away. I would recommend going to a bootcamp if you can’t afford college immediately after high school, or even if you’re just curious about being a developer.

My advice is to go for it, because everyone will get something out of it.

About The Author

Liz is the cofounder of Course Report, the most complete resource for students considering a coding bootcamp. She loves breakfast tacos and spending time getting to know bootcamp alumni and founders all over the world. Check out Liz & Course Report on Twitter, Quora, and YouTube!

This is a cost comparison of full stack (front end and back end) in-person (on-site) immersive bootcamps that are nine weeks or longer, and many of them also include extra remote pre-work study. We have chosen courses which we think are comparable in course content – they all teach HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, plus back end languages or frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, Python, Angular, and Node.js. All schools listed here have at least one campus in the USA. To find out more about each bootcamp or read reviews, click on the links below to see their detailed Course Report pages.

Coding Temple is a new .NET coding bootcamp in Chicago using immersive curriculum to prep students for a career in software development. We talk to the team behind Coding Temple- Frank, Ripal and Avi- about preparing for the first cohort in August, why they chose to teach .NET, and the Coding Temple application process.

Who is the team behind Coding Temple?

Frank: Ripal and Avi reached out to me knowing that I had run two successful companies- I’m helping with everyday operations at Coding Temple.

Ripal: Avi studied Computer Science and Engineering at Berkeley, and was teaching me how to build a website using JavaScript- it was clear that he could teach these skills and he had seen the rise of bootcamps in San Francisco. We did a lot of research before launching Coding Temple in Chicago.

Avi: I am the program director for Coding Temple. In other words, I analyze and manage the improvements on all curricula. I also manage our current team of instructors, analyzing the market needs of hiring partners, and stay up to date with the latest technologies.

I am currently a software engineer at GT Nexus, a company that provides a cloud platform for global supply chains. I am currently part of a small team that focuses on solving a wide array of NP-hard problems such as TSP, VRP, and bin packing problems using metaheuristics. In other words I work with software that uses machine learning (artificial intelligence). I am a full stack developer and the stack that I work with is the following: C++/Python/AngularJS/Redis/J2EE/SQL.

Why did you decide to start a coding bootcamp in Chicago?

Mainly because there aren’t many big .NET and Java bootcamps in the market, but also because Chicago is where we live. We wanted to start a bootcamp in the city where we have the biggest network, instead of moving to the East Coast or something.

How did you decide what to include in a 12-week program? For example, why is it important to touch on iOS?

Read above. Our main camp’s goal is to train beginners into entry level .Net developers. The reason why we are teaching the .NET stack is because no other school in Chicago is teaching it. Also, the demand for .NET and Java developers is much higher than demand for RoR web developers in the Chicagoland and surrounding areas.

Are there plans to expand with classes in Python and Hadoop?

Our mini boot camps will launch Python and Swift within the next couple months. We hope to launch a class in Hadoop next year. We’ll probably wait at least 6 months before we add more to the curriculum or launch new classes.

What type of student is Coding Temple designed for? Are you looking for beginners or applicants with a bit more experience?

We’re anticipating that most of the applicants will have no experience at all. Our ideal applicant has at least basic knowledge of HTML and CSS or JavaScript. You should be able to do 10 to 15 hours worth of work each day. When you’re learning to code in 12 weeks, you should expect to learn quickly so students with a bit of experience will have a better experience.

What does the Coding Temple application process look like?

They first fill out the application and submit it. We then schedule a Skype interview with the applicant in order to see if they are a fit for the program. If not, we recommend them to other surrounding schools that would better fit for their needs. After the interview, we assign them sections from a Codeacademy course. Note that not all applicants will be doing the same course on Codeacademy. Their assigned work depends on how much experience they have and the languages they have worked with. One applicant might get assigned 4 sections from the Python course on Codeacademy, while another applicant might get 6 sections from the Ruby course. We then schedule a follow up interview where we gauge for their reasoning and problem solving skills than technical skills. After the follow up interview, we then give a response within 2-3 days that lets the applicant know whether they have been accepted to the program.

How many students are you aiming for in that first cohort?

Our first cohort is in August and we’re looking for anywhere from 6 to 10 students. We want to keep the first class small so that we can get an understanding of what the students need most.

Who is the main instructor at Coding Temple?

Avi is no longer the main instructor for the main course at Coding Temple. Our main instructor is Hitesh Patel.

Hitesh has over seven years of experience in software development. Hitesh currently works as a .NET C# developer for Robert Half Technologies SPS team.
His language skill set includes: HTML/CSS, C#, SQL, VB.Net, C++, LINQ, and Javascript.
His web based experience includes: ASP.NET, MS-SQL Server, ADO.NET, KnockOut JS, jQuery, HTML 5.0, and Web Services.

Have you made any efforts to get women and underrepresented minorities to apply to Coding Temple?

Women have been reaching out to us regarding Coding Temple. We are actually talking to a potential female instructor who was actually one of my TAs in a computer science class. She’s still working on her PhD, but may be teaching part-time for Coding Temple. Also, we are a minority-owned coding school.

Will there be tests or assessments that students have to pass throughout the course?

There will be two main assessments. The main purpose behind the assessments is to determine the individual student’s weak areas. Wherever we find a weakness, our instructors will address them individually, which depends from person to person.

How often will tests or assessments be given throughout the class?

The assessments will be given at the end of the first month and end of second month of in-class session.

What happens if a student fails an assessment?

We will try to address their weak areas and have them retake the assessment before the next main assessment occurs.

What’s the teaching style at Coding Temple? Will you have lectures each day or will class be project-driven?

The curriculum consists of half lecture and half hands-on experience. Everything you learn will be put into work. Students will get projects and assignments to do during class that that pertain to what they learn each day.

So students are doing an assignment every single day of class and will also have two group projects and a capstone. We like group projects because students can teach each other different techniques to learning programming concepts.

Does Coding Temple have formal hiring partners yet?

We’re actually working on that right now. There’s an IT recruiting company nearby who we’re considering partnering with us. It’s called Axiom Technology Group, and we’re working with them right now to figure out what we can help each other with.

Will you have a demo day at the end of the class or what’s the approach to job prep?

Week 10 for the students will be spent prepping for interviews. Recruiters will come in answer any questions the students might have, prep them for interviews, and connect them to hiring companies.

Where is the Coding Temple classroom?

We’re going to be teaching at WeWork in downtown Chicago. WeWork is a co-working space that houses startups. We rent out a small classroom. They’ve been a huge resource- students have 24/7 access to the space and tons of other perks.

Is there financing available for students?

We want to offer as many financing options as possible for our students, so we have three different financing options. One is to pay in full with a $500 discount. Two, we offer an installment plan to pay in full by Week 10. The third option is long-term financing over 24 months. We’re going to do all these in-house.

We’ll customize these options to each student and come up with our own payment schedule that works best for them.

Have you all faced any issues with regulation or working with Chicago or Illinois regulatory agencies?

No, nothing so far.

To learn more about Coding Temple, check out their School Page on Course Report!

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